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“How many siblings did you have?” I asked, curious to know more about this mysterious girl and eager to keep my mind off these first few opening hours of my store.
She looked over at me, twisting her hands together nervously. “Um… fourteen, including me? That’s if there isn’t more now. Seven brothers, six sisters.”
My mouth dropped open. “Fourteen kids?” I gaped at her in awe. After giving birth to Harlyn, I’m not sure how many more births I could take. “Does your mom feel pain at all?”
She giggled uncomfortably. “It’s complicated.” She slowly turned and headed toward the back of the store where the other girls were sifting through rack after rack of clothing, while I just stared at her in awe.
Skylar was bubbly and bright, but with her aversion, I knew deep in my gut that I wasn’t the only one trying to stifle demons from my past. I hoped for her sake that they stayed there.
Much to my surprise, there was a reasonable amount of traffic beginning to flow through the store, some were friends of the girls, and others just people who’d heard about the opening and had come to check it out. Overall, their reactions to the clothes and atmosphere seemed positive, and I was feeling ecstatic.
Until I looked up to say goodbye to the customer I was serving and sawhisface.
My gut dropped to the floor, and I struggled to take in a breath as he stepped inside my store. His eyes moved around the room, watching the women as they browsed and chatting animatedly with each other.
For a second I wondered if I had time to hide, to duck and run and escape him. But there was no such luck, his dark eyes latched onto me and a smug smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as he took several large heavy steps across the room.
“Annabelle,” he drawled, the whisper of my name on his lips was enough to have me sinking back, even though the counter was between us.
My eyes flicked around the room, checking to see if anyone was paying attention to the interaction. When I was satisfied they were distracted, my face formed a scowl. “What the hell are you doing here?” I whispered, forcing my voice to be hard and cold, even though all I wanted to do was cower.
He placed a hand on the glass counter and leaned in. “I thought I would come and see what my money has bought.” His eyes wandered. “It’s a nice place, could do with some work, though. You let just anyone in here?”
I could see him eyeing some of the girls from the club, it was obvious he knew who they were.
“Not just anyone,” I hissed back. “But unfortunately you just waltzed in, didn’t have time to slam the door in your face.”
His loud laughter drew the attention of people around us, and I quickly forced a smile like we were sharing a joke together. “I suggest you come into the back room and have a chat with me before all these lovely ladies get to hear what I have to say,” he threatened, sending a shiver up my spine.
I didn’t doubt he would do what he said, so I quickly shook off my anger and tried to calm my body. “Harmony!” I called over the chatter. She caught my eye and came over to stand beside me. “Any chance you could man the store for a few minutes. This is an old… friend… who’s in town, and I just want to catch up with him quickly.”
Harmony grinned at Peter. “No problem. We’ve got things under control. Have a break.” She ushered me out from behind the counter and Peter followed closely behind me, as I led us down the back of the store and out into the storeroom.
Shutting the door behind him as he slipped through, I spun on my heel with a deep glare. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He snickered. “Wow! I see you grew a backbone somewhere over the past few years. But I guess you need to when you spend so much time around Neanderthals like those bikers.”
I took a step forward. “Fuck you.”
His eyes flashed, and within a second I found myself choking, his hand gripping my throat and forcing my body backward against the nearest wall. I clawed at the sleeves of his suit jacket to no avail. “You better keep quiet, Annabelle. You don’t want those girls rushing in here do you?”
No, I didn’t.
I couldn’t let them see this. They couldn’t know.
I stilled my body, trying to breathe in what little air he was allowing to pass through without panicking. After a few moments, he lifted his grip and stepped back just a few inches and adjusted his cuff links.
“Good girl,” he said, making my lip curl up in disgust. “We have a few things we need to discuss. The first being that beautiful little girl I’ve seen you with—”
“She’s not yours,” I snapped. “Leave her out of this.”
He clicked his tongue at me. “Now why would I believe anything you said when you seem to have a history of bad decisions,” he sneered. “But anything to get your fix, right?”
A chill ran through me, and I struggled to breathe.
“You want this don’t you, baby?” he asked, his voice slick and smooth. “You know it will make you feel good.”
He balanced the pill on his finger, holding it out in front of me.
